Heparin sodium is the sodium salt of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and is a mixture of heterogeneous molecules varying in molecular weights. It is commonly used as an anticoagulant in many therapeutic and diagnostic applications. First isolated from canine liver cells in 1916, heparin is widely conserved among species and has been found in mammals as well as invertebrates. However, heparin is most commonly isolated from porcine or bovine intestinal mucosa. Despite sharing a name, porcine and bovine molecules designated as heparins have a variety of structural and functional differences. Additionally, bovine-derived heparin is associated with concerns regarding excessive bleeding as well as possible contamination with pathogens such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. As a result, for therapeutic purposes, only porcine heparin is accepted by United States and European pharmacological authorities.
New methods are therefore needed for conclusively determining the bovine or porcine origin of crude heparin sodium.